Policy, purpose, and ethical rationale
- The rules establish that advertising and publicity must protect the public interest by defining parameters for ethical, permissible advertising by professional accountants.
- The rules treat certain traditional advertising practices as unethical when they involve undue commercialization of a profession that should not be peddled through touting or self-laudatory means.
- The rules aim to prevent threats to compliance with fundamental principles of the profession when professional accountants solicit work through advertising or marketing.
Core general rule on acceptable advertising
- Advertising and publicity in any medium are acceptable when they have as their objective the notification to the public (or affected sectors) of matters of fact such as name, address, contact numbers, and services offered in a manner that is not false, misleading or deceptive.
- Advertising must be in good taste and must be professionally dignified.
- Advertising must avoid frequent repetition and must avoid undue prominence being given to the name of the firm or professional accountant in public practice.
Prohibited advertising practices
- Advertising is not allowed to include self-laudatory statements.
- Advertising is not allowed to include discrediting, disparaging, or attacking other firms or CPA practitioners.
- Advertising is not allowed to refer to, use, or cite actual or purported testimonials by third parties.
- Advertising is not allowed to publish and compare fees with other CPAs or CPA firms, or to compare services with those provided by another firm or CPA practitioner.
- Advertising must not give too much emphasis on competitive differences.
- Advertising must not use words or phrases that are hard to define and even more difficult to substantiate objectively.
- Advertising is not allowed to publish services in billboard advertisements (including tarpaulin and streamers).
Restrictions on affiliations, clients, accreditation claims
- A firm or CPA practitioner must not use the name of an international accounting firm affiliation/correspondence other than a notation that it is a member/correspondent firm of that foreign firm, to avoid implying that the foreign firm is practicing in the Philippines.
- A firm or CPA practitioner must not identify the name of a client or items of a client’s business in advertising, public relations, or marketing material produced to promote practice, unless the client gives written consent.
- A firm or CPA practitioner must not use the term “Accredited” or similar words or phrases calculated to convey the same meaning if the claimed accreditation (Board of Accountancy (BOA), SEC, BSP, or IC) has expired.
Prior review and approval requirement
- All advertisements must have prior review and approval in writing by the Risk Management Partner and Managing Partner (or their equivalents).
Illustrative permissible publicity contexts
- Publicity is acceptable in specific situations when it meets the overarching requirements on ethical advertising.
- Publicity for awards is allowed when it relates to appointments or activities of national or local importance or the award of a distinction to a professional accountant, and when membership in the professional body is mentioned; the professional accountant must not use such appointments or activities for personal professional advantage.
- A professional accountant may inform interested parties about seeking partnership or salaried employment in accountancy through any medium, but must not publicize for subcontract work in a manner that could be interpreted as seeking to procure professional business; publicity seeking subcontract work may be acceptable only in the professional press, and only if neither the accountant’s name, address, nor telephone number appears in the publicity.
- A professional accountant may list in a directory; directory entries may include name, address, telephone number, professional description, services offered, and other information necessary to enable contact.
- A professional accountant may authorize authorship or participation in books, articles, interviews, lectures, and radio and television appearances on professional subjects; such participation may state the accountant’s name and professional qualifications and the name of the organization, but must not give information on the services the firm provides.
- A professional accountant may issue training-course and seminar related invitations to clients, staff, or other professional accountants; other persons may be invited only in response to an unsolicited request.
- Staff recruitment publicity for genuine vacancies may be communicated through any medium where comparable staff vacancies normally appear; the job specification may give some details about services, but must not contain any promotional element and must not suggest that services are superior to those of other accountants due to size, associations, or any other reason.
- Publicity on behalf of clients is allowed primarily for staff, provided the emphasis is directed toward the objectives to be achieved for the client.
- A professional accountant in public practice may issue to clients, or in response to an unsolicited request to a non-client:
- a factual and objectively worded listing of services; and
- a directory setting out names of partners, office addresses, and names and address of associated firms and correspondents.
- Stationery and nameplates must be of an acceptable professional standard and comply with applicable requirements on names of partners/principals/others, use of professional descriptions and designatory letters, cities or countries where practice is represented, logotypes, and similar items; designating services as “specialist” nature must not be permitted.
- Announcements in appropriate newspapers or magazines are allowed for establishment of a new practice, changes in partnership composition, or alteration of address, and must be limited to a bare statement of facts, considering the appropriateness of the publication area and the number of insertions.
- When a client publishes a report by a professional accountant in public practice on the client’s business affairs or a new business venture, the professional accountant must ensure the context does not mislead the public about the nature and meaning of the report and must advise the client that permission must be obtained before publication.
- Anniversaries: press and media releases or announcements or newspaper supplements, or other commemorative media, or events covered by media held to commemorate anniversaries in public practice do not violate the advertising and solicitation rules when they contain only factual matters without detailed listing of services, and when done only every five years of celebration.
- Websites: a professional accountant may develop and maintain a website in the Internet, in suitable length and style, and it may include announcements, press releases, publications, and necessary factual information such as firm name, partners’/principals’ names and brief educational attainment, brief listing of services, postal address, telephone, fax, and e-mail; the website must adhere to the advertising rules.
Effectivity and publication
- The rules become effective after fifteen (15) days following publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.
- The resolution was adopted on July 07, 2008.